


Some Sort Of Sign Language

by OverthinkingAntagonizing



Category: Off
Genre: Going off-mission, The batter is not having fun, We're curious people is all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-25 21:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17733392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverthinkingAntagonizing/pseuds/OverthinkingAntagonizing
Summary: Zacharie is curious but knows he isn't important enough to have his questions answered, so he tricks his way into getting the help of a higher being.





	1. Chapter 1

Zacharie always knew the puppeteer couldn't talk. Though he had no memory of other puppeteers or other game sessions, he was written to be aware of the game the puppeteer was playing; apparently, that was considered to be amusing to creatures such as they. Such as you. Nevertheless, the fact the puppeteer themselves were never allowed to talk, to express anything more than simple intention by directing the Batter's movements, had made the merchant curious. Very, very curious. And one day he had an idea.

He stood in his usual spot in zone 2, his plan already hatched and fully grown into a beautiful little chicken. He said his usual (Not that he can remember saying them before) lines in zone 1, letting the puppeteer get acquainted with him as was planned.

There came the Batter. The moment where Zacharie appeared on the player's screen was clear, as the Batter immediately changed course to meet him, despite already having been in the Batter's line of sight a minute before. The Batter approached him, and Zacharie let the usual transaction take place. Sell items. Buy items. Make references. When it ended, though, he spoke up.

"Aren't you curious, my friend?"  
"Curious?" asked the Batter, stoicism making place for the quietest bit of confusion.  
"Not you, mi amigo. I am talking to your dear all seeing, all hearing puppeteer. Aren't you curious? Don't you have some questions?"  
"They cannot speak to us. Only guide my movements."  
"Ah, but that is where the secret lies, my friend."

The Batter could feel his puppeteer, you, taken aback. The lift of the silent hands that left him unmoving gave him the hint.

"What secret, merchant?"  
"To communication, my friend! For, even if the path has been laid for you two, there are still a few options for him to choose from, though they would normally be irrelevant."  
"Get to your point."  
"My point is, mon amie, that even a step of yours to the left or to the right are a choice. One we may be able to take advantage of."  
"Take advantage of how?"  
The Batter didn't know why he was feeling uneasy, a feeling that did not come to him often. He reacted the only way he knew how; he tightened his hold on his bat.  
"Dear puppeteer, please walk the Batter in a circle if you wish to ask him or me some questions. Walk him in an X if you do not."

Oh.

The Oh resonated within the Batter, a sudden understanding that fell simultaneously for both him and you. You hesitated, and he wondered if it's because you were having a hard time deciding, or because this was unexpected.

His legs began moving, but he couldn't tell where. For the first time on this journey, he had no idea where he was going.  
"This is a pointless distraction from our goal."  
You seemed to have stopped as he said that, considered again, and kept him walking. Now the pattern his feet were making was clear.  
You walked him in a circle.  
"This is pointless. Even if you wish to know more about us, puppeteer, you cannot ask us questions."  
Zacharie chuckled.  
"Well, they may be unable to, but this was a proof of concept, one that we can take much further."  
He took out black chalk- where did he get black chalk?- and wrote on the sidewalk. "Batter, if you would please read our dear puppeteer the writing? I do believe it's too small for them."  
You manoeuvred the Batter to the block of writing.  
"Would you like to know more about the batter? Yes/no."  
"You need to make a choice, there," remarked Zacharie. To you, it merely appeared as another choice box, like those that came before elevators. You chose "yes".  
"Excellent!"  
"What if the puppeteer wants to know more about you, merchant? You did not offer the option."  
"Ah, that's all right. I do believe you, Batter, may be far more interesting."  
The Batter could feel the annoyance radiating through your invisible strings.  
"All right then! Then we shall begin. A question that always bugged me, mi amigo, and I'm certain our player as well- What does it actually feel like being controlled by them?"  
Ah. There it is. This whole scheme was just Zacharie's way to force The Batter to answer his questions. There had to be a motive. The Batter would be furious, but a wave hit him through the strings. It WAS a question you wanted to be answered.

He took a moment to respond. He must satisfy you, you were his puppeteer. But he was never fond of talking. There was that uneasiness again, pulled out of his element.

"I... I suppose it feels perfect." He paused again, a bit unwilling to continue. But you pressed on, compelling him by some unknown force to let the next sentence out of his mouth. "When I walk on my own, or when the player allows me to make the decisions on a fight, I can feel the imperfections in my movement, the inaccuracy of muscle. When the puppeteer controls me, that is gone. It's perfect. Your control makes me perfect. Which is why I need you to make the world perfectly pure."

You were surprised and taken aback and could he feel it. He was unsure how to respond to your reaction. Zacharie pressed on, for his curiosity and supposedly yours. "That is fascinating, my friend. How about this one, then: What are your true feelings about this world and its inhabitants? Your stoicism must make you as much as an enigma to them as it does to me."

That was easy, he felt. You couldn't possibly be unsure of that question, could you?  
"I feel it is corrupt and broken, and for the better of the world and its inhabitants, it must be purified. It is for the best."

He could see the disappointment in Zacharie's slouch and hoped you hadn't felt the same. What did he expect? That was your purpose.  
"I see... Well, this one is more for the player than for me, mon amie. What was your very first memory?"

Your first memory? Well, that wasn't too long ago.  
"Coming into existence in zone 0."  
"So you've only just been born?"  
"Yes."  
"I am certain the player finds this information most intriguing."  
"It is pointless and unhelpful for our mission. Can we move on?"  
"Player? Circle for moving on with your quest, X for staying."

He walked in an X at your command.  
"Fine. Next question then."  
He seemed defeated.

"How about this riddling one? What is it that you actually like?"  
"Me?"  
"Yes, mi amigo."

He listed a few things, that came to him as he spoke. Some of these he never knew existed but now that he thought of them, he was certain he was incredibly fond of them. The last of them sent Zacharie crying with laughter.  
"...and dad jokes."  
"Dad jokes? Really, Batter?" He rolls on the floor between gasps and cries of cheer.  
"...yes?"  
"Oh dear, mon amie, that is- that is great..."  
You could swear the cheeks of the Batter's tiny, adorable sprite were reddening.  
Once Zacharie stopped laughing, he picked himself back up.  
"All right, all right. Last one, then, and we can release you back to your duty. Is that all right with you, player?"  
He walked in a circle. The text box that popped up contained a sigh of relief.  
"Can you dance?"  
"What?"  
The Batter considered the question. He seemed to have entire dances memorised, sets of moves and time cues almost crying through muscle memory he never gained to be used. But he hated the idea. Oh, he hated it so.  
"I can, but I don't want to."  
"Ah, but you can. Isn't a shame not to?"  
"I have but one duty, and dancing is useless for that task. Therefore, I have no wish to dance."

Zacharie huffed, sufficiently amused by the questionnaire. "Well then, amigo, as promised, this was the last question for you. If the puppeteer wishes for more, he can have you ask me to answer them next time we meet."

The Batter, to Zacharie, visibly relaxed. Perhaps he was afraid to be asked to dance for the amusement of his puppeteer. Like a monkey. For the first time, the Batter, who long since realised he had no true choice of his own, had feared the implications. Not for the threat of dance, no, but for the fact that a puppeteer willing to spend this much time on uselessly embarrassing him, on avoiding their mission, mayhaps never intended to finish it.

He hadn't voiced a single of these thoughts, suddenly afraid to talk to the hand that guided him. Instead, he gathered his well known cool, and steeled his heart. "Let us go, then, puppeteer. We have a mission to complete."


	2. Having Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :]

He had opened his eyes after letting you save at the red box. Ever since that conversation with Zacharie, he wondered how much life had you been living between the saves. How long it took you to come back each time. He had no way to tell, but he was suspicious. How dedicated were you to the goal?

He just arrived at zone 2's theme park. The line inside was entirely empty, though the sign claimed for the wait to be impossibly long. In there, there were Elsens, as cowardly as always and complaining of how dangerous the park's activities were, and how choosing between three different attractions was too much.

As usual by now, he suspected that you are talking to the Elsens for your own amusement. Perhaps you thought them funny. Funny little bugs. He was growing to dislike you though his usual stoicism hid it from your eyes. After playing that awfully easy balloon game- the Batter could never quite tell if the logic used to solve the puzzle was his or yours- that Elsen had exploded, burning into another Burnt. You let him take care of it, as you have been doing since the conversation. Maybe he insulted you with how he described it? Now that he himself was committing the awful sin of doubting you- one he would get back at Zacharie for no doubt- he wasn't sure how he was feeling about you controlling him again himself. How he was feeling about that forced perfection.

Then you brought him by the roller coaster. Already agitated, the rows of chairs made him roll his eyes. After you led him through the puzzle to open the roller coaster up, you tried to sit him on the roller coaster. He refused- he insisted sitting in front. Just to show the scared Elsens what real thrill looks like.

He hadn't expected the fall to be this exciting, he even threw his hands up.

He could feel you jitter behind the strings. He pulled you back up to the roller coaster, and you knew you needed to solve the puzzle- the solution was pretty obvious. Push the statue of Zacharie onto the seat and ride with "Zacharie" to get a photo.

But you sat him in the front row alone.

He got to ride again. This time he even made a strange sound- he himself didn't know he could laugh. It sounded awfully hoarse, but it was there.

You were jittering again behind the strings.

Hesitantly he spoke to you. "That was fun."  
It wasn't much, but he never had a way with words.  
You walked him in a circle and waited for a response.  
"..."  
You pressed on, pulling the next thought out his mouth.  
"Can I go again?"

You let him go three more times, and he was very much enjoying it. Eventually, you had to solve the puzzle though, and it wasn't available for another ride. The Batter intentionally made a "scared" face for the camera.

Perhaps having a puppeteer with a personality wasn't as bad as he previously thought.

**Author's Note:**

> I may continue this, and develope the new relationship between puppet and puppeteer created by this change in dynamic. Who knows. I'm just having fun.


End file.
